Scientists Just Made a Huge Breakthrough in Diagnosing Breast Cancer

In groundbreaking breast cancer research news, two kinds of blood tests are poised to help predict the development of breast cancer. The first is a common blood test that measures blood platelet counts, which have been found to be connected with the disease. The second is a test that recognizes proteins the body makes when it's fighting breast cancer.

Blood tests that measure platelet counts are common, which is why it's so exciting that researchers have just indicated a link between high platelet count and breast cancer. Specifically, researchers from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom believe that high platelet counts could be as accurate a predictor of the development of breast cancer as an actual breast lump. If these blood tests are administered regularly, it's possible that more cases of breast cancer would be caught earlier.

However, Jasmine Just, Cancer Research U.K.’s health information officer, believes more research is needed before clinicians start administering blood tests unless a patient already needs it for something else, as high platelet counts don't necessarily mean cancer. She told The Guardian, “Measuring platelet count in patients who don’t otherwise warrant a blood test is not necessarily a good idea. But if a patient has a blood test for another reason and a high platelet count is found, then one of the possible diagnoses doctors should consider is cancer.” Still, now doctors can know to look at test results with this particular thing in mind when a blood test is administered.

The second test is branded as Videssa Breast and could cut the use of biopsy by 67 percent, a new study shows. When a clinician notices something abnormal in a patient's mammogram, the clinician could potentially use Videssa Breast in order to either rule out breast cancer or decide to continue with testing before performing a biopsy. Allowing patients to avoid involved procedures and make better decisions about care is a fantastic step forward.

There is some less happy news about breast cancer this week you should know: For those of us who enjoy unwinding with a daily glass of rosé, a new report from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) might cause us to rethink those plans. The findings show that a daily glass of alcohol may increase the risk of breast cancer. Specifically, findings state that a small daily glass of alcohol (about 10 grams alcohol content, when a standard drink is 14 grams of alcohol) could increase pre-menopausal risk of breast cancer by 5 percent and post-menopausal risk by 9 percent.

Daily drinkers' heightened risk for breast cancer may be explained by the interaction between alcohol and estrogen. Chin-Yo Lin, a researcher at the University of Houston's Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling who was not involved in this new study, told CNN, "Alcohol consumption is also associated with elevated levels of the female sex hormone estrogen. Excessive cumulative exposure to estrogen is a major risk factor in breast cancer. A number of studies have shown that alcohol can enhance the actions of estrogen in breast cancer cells."

However, Lin also said that "it should be noted that light drinking appears to protect against heart disease. Those beneficial effects should be weighed against the slight increase in risk for breast cancer." The AICR and WCRF report did strike some hopeful notes, including that mothers who breastfeed are at a lower risk of breast cancer and that people who moderately exercise are at 13 percent lower risk; people who vigorously exercise, meanwhile, are at 17 percent lower risk. There also appears to be a link between consumption of dairy and veggies and lower breast cancer risk — so it's not all bad news. As AICR’s Head of Nutrition Programs Alice Bender, M.S., R.D.N. put it in a press release, “There are no guarantees when it comes to cancer, but it’s empowering to know you can do something to lower your risk.”